Friday Favourites – Favourite Debut Books

This was hosted by Something of the Book who created this tag out of a love for lists. Now Geeky is taking over the tag. There are different topics for us all to be able to take part and you can find the prompts here. There isn’t a specific number of favourites so it’s entirely up to you how many you share.

This week I am going to share some of my favourite books which were debuts. If I love an author’s debut book they often become an auto buy author for me so I’m going to share some older books which were debut books that I loved and have loved every other book by that author since.

1 The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh – I adore everything that Renee writes!

2 Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – Alwyn’s writing got better in every book and I am so excited for her next book!

3 Cinder by Marissa Meyer – One of my all time favourite series and have read multiple times.

4 Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali – Love both her books so much and I cannot wait for the sequel!

5 When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – Excuse me but this book is so damn adorable!

6 Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – I have read all of her Grishaverse books multiple times! I have also been told I will love Ninth House so I am excited to dive in!

7 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – I absolutely adore this series and I am not ready for that last book.

8 Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan – I love every single thing that Riordan writes!

9 Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed – This book had me ugly crying both times that I read it. I love her books so much!

10 The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty – I bet you thought I wouldn’t mention Daevabad but I OBVIOUSLY have to include it in any and everything I can possibly write because my love for this trilogy knows no bounds!

My Favourite 2019 Debut Books

We’re already at the end of 2019 which is crazy because it was just January? The year sees to have flown by but I did read some amazing books.

I’m going to share my favourite debut books that I read this year:

1 The Disasters by M.K. England – I loved this book so much! I loved how diverse it was and the Muslim rep was so great! You can read my review here

2 Viper by Bex Hogan – I was able to read the arc and I loved how brutal and ruthless this world was! Pirate assassins! What more could you want. You can read my review here

3 It’s Not About the Burqa Edited by Mariam Khan – This book was absolutely amazing and I just need everyone to read this! You can read my review here

4 Nocturna by Maya Motayne – I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to see where the story goes. You can read my review here

5 A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby – This is a middle grade book and I really loved it! It’s such a moving and beautiful story. You can read my review here

6 The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala – I was sold as soon as I saw the cover and I absolutely loved the story and the enemies to lovers. You can read my review here

7 All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman – This book had me sobbing after reading the first chapter. A book dealing with mental health but also including a Muslim girl whose religion actually affects her decisions. I loved it so much. You can read my review here

8 The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad – This book is the story of badass women getting stuff done. They each have wonderful story arcs of their own and interwoven together and it is SO GOOD. You can read my review here

9 We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal – Where do I apply to join the zumra?! I cannot wait for We Free the Stars! I need it asap after that ending! You can read my review here

10 All American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney – This book stole my heart. I felt so seen and heard. I am still thinking about this book months after I read it. You can read my review here

11 The Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shah – A post-apocalyptic world underwater complete with submarine races and corrupt governments yet still hope drives people forward. I loved it so much! You can read my review here

So here are my favourite debut books of 2019! Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? What debut books were your favourite?

Books I Love By Authors In The UK – Part 1

In this post I want to share some of my favourite books by authors in the UK. I feel like several of these authors deserve more love and that you should all go read their books!

1 The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – I am impatiently waiting for the next book because I love this series so much!

2 The Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – I adore this trilogy! And Alwyn has recently announced that she will be releasing a new series set in the same world!

3 The Summoner and Contender series by Taran Matharu – I loved the Summoner books and I recently read the first Contender book and loved it too! It’s also ownvoices! You can read my reviews of The Outcast here and of The Chosen here

4 All the Things we Never Said by Yasmin Rahman – A book dealing with mental health and suicidal thoughts and how important friendship can be. You can read my review here

5 Viper by Bex Hogan – Pirates and Assassins and a bloodthirsty and violent world and I loved it! You can read my review here

6 Darren Shan Saga by Darren Shan – A childhood favourite about vampires and I really loved the whole series!

7 Gilded Cage trilogy and Sanctuary by Vic James – A dystopian UK where those who don’t have powers must serve those with powers for 10 years and are effectively slaves for that period. Sanctuary is a dark witchy book and I loved all of her books! You can read my review of Sanctuary here

8 She Wore Red Trainers by Naima B Robert – I really love all the books Naima rights but especially this one as it’s a Muslim love story! You can read my review here

9 You’re Crushing It by Lex Croucher – I really loved reading through this book. It’s about mental health, building your self-esteem and so much more.

10 I Am Thunder and Kick the Moon by Muhammad Khan – Both deal with very relevant issues and I highly recommend reading them! You can read my review of Kick the Moon here

11 A Pocketful of Stars by Aisha Bushby – I really loved this book that deals with growing apart from friends, being true to yourself and standing up for what’s right. You can read my review here

12 Jinxed by Amy Alward – This book was one of those books that I came across accidently but I ended up falling in love! It’s a dystopian sci-fi with unapologetically nerdy, smart female characters who excel in STEM areas. You can read my review here

So when I started writing this post I actually realised I knew a lot more UK authors than I thought so there will be a part 2 posted in a couple days!

Viper by Bex Hogan – ARC Review

I was sent an eARC of this books from Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw the beautiful cover of this book it instantly attracted me and when I saw it was a pirate book, I was sold! And this book did not disappoint! I loved it so much and I’m really looking forward to the next book.

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Marianne has been training to be the Viper for her entire life – to serve and protect the King and the citizens of The Twelve Isles – but to become the Viper and protect the islands she loves she must find the strength to defeat her father.

He will make me a killer.
Or he will have me killed.
That is my destiny.

Seventeen-year-old Marianne is fated to one day become the Viper, defender of the Twelve Isles.

But the reigning Viper stands in her way. Corrupt and merciless, he prowls the seas in his warship, killing with impunity, leaving only pain and suffering in his wake.

He’s the most dangerous man on the ocean . . . and he is Marianne’s father.

She was born to protect the islands. But can she fight for them if it means losing her family, her home, the boy she loves – and perhaps even her life?

A brave heroine. An impossible dilemma. An epic new fantasy trilogy set on the high seas.

This book is fast paced, action packed and very brutal and bloody and right from the beginning we see how brutal Marianne’s father is and the type of people she has grown up around. Yet, despite growing up like this, seeing all the violence, she still is unwilling to murder someone, which makes her a disappoint to her father. She defies her father in small ways despite knowing she will be punished, and I loved her from the first chapter.

When I started reading I quickly realised that not only is this a story of pirates but of pirate assassins! And I fell in love even more. I will warn you though, it is very violent and there is lots of suffering. It’s a lot darker than I thought it would be. Yet there is still hope in the characters despite everything they go through.

Marianne has to go through a lot to stand up to her father. She doesn’t know who she can trust or who will help her achieve her goal. I loved her determination and how kind she was. She wants to be a healer not a killer yet she is definitely capable of being a killer, she chooses not to. I loved her story as she discovered who she was and who she wanted to be and what she’s capable to being. She chooses her own destiny despite one being laid out in front of her.

One of the things I loved was how distinct each island was that Marianne visits. That we actually get to spend time on the island too and explore them with her. And just like the islands, the people who live there are equally as diverse. And the time spent on the waters was so interesting too, from seeing how powerful her father’s ship and crew is to learning about the sea creatures that are just as scary as the pirates themselves.

I don’t want to say too much about the characters as it will spoil some of the plot for you but I will say that there are several characters that help Marianne and I loved all of them! I hope we get to see more of their stories in the next book.

If you love pirates or assassins and action packed books, I highly recommend picking up Viper when it releases on April 18th.

Top 10 Tuesday – New To Me Authors I read in 2018

Hey booknerds! I’m taking part in another week of Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. You can find more information here

This weeks topic is new to me authors I read in 2018.

I read so many amazing books by authors I had never read before and debut books which I fell in love with! So these are the authors I discovered or read their books for the first time and loved!

1 S.A. Chakraborty – if you follow me on my social media you probably already know of my obsession with The City of Brass and Shannon has become an auto buy author for me!

2 Uzma Jalaluddin – Ayesha at Last is another book I completely fell in love with and highly recommend. I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

3 Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar – another debut author who’s book I completely fell in love with. Her story is written so beautifully and so heartbreaking

4 Muhammad Khan – a UKYA debut author who wrote I Am Thunder. A book I really loved for it’s complex characters and thought provoking story

5 Taran Matharu – I finally got round to reading the summoner series and fell in love!

6 C.V. Wyk – I feel her book, Blood and Sand, is really underrated. It’s a retelling of Spartacus and I loved it so much! More people need to read this book!

7 S.M Wilson – I was completely hooked on The Extinction Trials from the first page and I cannot wait for the last book in this series

8 Tracy Banghart – Another author who’s book I completely fell in love with and I have been waiting in agony for the next book because it has the worst cliffhanger!

9 Fatima Farheen Mirza – a debut author who’s story was beautiful and heartbreaking

10 Lisa Maxwell – I had seen The Last Magician for a while on bookstagram and it sounded really interesting so I finally read and so glad I did because I loved it!

What authors did you discover last year?